- Eniola Mariam Bolaji has become the first African athlete to win a medal in Para-Badminton, clinching a Bronze medal for Nigeria in the women’s Singles SL3 category.
The historic moment came on Monday morning when Bolaji triumphed over her Ukrainian opponent, Oksana Kozyna, in straight sets, 2-0 (21-9, 21-9), during the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Although she had set her sights on the gold medal, her dreams were narrowly dashed in the semi-final on Sunday, where she was defeated 2-0 (16-21, 17-21) by China’s Zuxian Xiao.
Despite the setback, Bolaji rebounded with resilience, ensuring Nigeria’s presence on the medal table by securing the bronze in the following match.
[penci_related_posts title=”You Might Be Interested In” number=”4″ style=”list” align=”none” displayby=”cat” orderby=”random”]
This victory is particularly significant for Nigeria, as it ends a period of medal drought that had extended through recent major international competitions, including the Olympic Games and the World U-20 Athletics Championship.